Your computing experience just got smoother, faster and easier with the Kensington SlimBlade Trackball. Choose navigation mode to control cursor and scrolling. Media mode controls volume, play/pause, stop, and track forward/backward, while view mode zooms in/out, and pans. And it does it all with the ball to put complete control at your fingertips.

With its low-profile shape, you¡äll be able to use it comfortably for hours on end

The sleek stationary design saves your desk space

Gain fingertip access to image and media controls

Control cursor and scrolling; volume, play/pause, stop, and next; zoom in/out, and pan, all with the ball

Customer Reviews:

A real disappointment! Flawed ergonometrics and useless driver software.The Kensington Slimblade Trackball looks great on paper, but having now used it for more than a week I suggest that it is not suitable for serious work, given the inability to control the motion and/or program the buttons using the current driver software, and its design is likely to exacerbate repetitive motion injuries.

The scrollball feature, which requires twisting the ball to scroll a document up and down, is not a well thought out feature because the motion that is required is likely to promote injury of the wrist. The only advantage of this design is that it avoids the previously used (in the Expert Trackball) scroll wheel.

Even though the slope of the trackball frame is less than that of the Expert Mouse, one is still required to tilt the hand backwards repeatedly to scroll the ball and then to click the front two buttons for the left and right mouse buttons. I attempted to level the frame using stick-on rubber feet, but the ball still projects well out of the plane of the buttons. The mechanical action of the buttons is such that pressing the buttons near the ball is easier than near the front, where the thumb naturally projects. A better mousebutton motion might be obtained for some users if it were possible to assign the back two buttons to the left and right mouse buttons, but the current driver does not allow this. As noted in other reviews, third-party mouse drivers (on Mac OS X, USB Overdrive and Steermouse) do not recognize the back buttons.

Despite the improved action of the trackball over that of the Expert Trackball, I do not recommend purchase of this trackball owing to the flawed ergonometrics and the extremely poor state of the current driver....more info

I like it a lotI've been using the Slimblade for several weeks now, and I like it a lot. It fits my hand very well. The ball rolls quite easily. The ability to re-size screens easily is very nice. I had used the Expert Mouse before and was pleased with it, but this is better. One reason is that you don't have to click in an area to use the scroll feature, it just works, and twirling the ball is just a little easier than twirling the scroll ring. It would be nice to be able to adjust the acceleration of the cursor movement, as you could with the Expert Mouse....more info

No Middle Click, buttons non-programmableI'm very disappointed. What's shipped works beautifully. The trackball is smooth and the extra functions seem to work nicely. However, there is no middle click functionality and the buttons are not programmable so there is no way around this.

In other words, its a $100+ mouse that lacks one of the basic functions of a $10 mouse. I don't care how beautiful or "innovative" it is, if the claim is "The Ball does it all" that had better include a way to emulate a basic mouse function like middle click.

I even called Kensington's customer support just to make sure I wasn't missing something. The support rep confirmed that there is no middle click and that the buttons aren't programmable using Kensingtons Mousewerks software (which is a shame).

This makes web surfing a pain, it cuts into the efficiency of basic navigation around the OS, and is a big step backward despite the well-done bells and whistles it offers.

Great mouse repelacementI bought this trackball because I am suffering from early symptoms of carlap tunnel (arm tingling after mouse usage and at other times) and cannot afford to lose the use of my hand. I also have suffered from golfer's elbow in the past, also because of constant mouse use.

For the purpose I bought this trackball for- replacing my mouse in my day to work with my mac, it is excellent. I leave it in its default mode most of the time.

Using a trackball instead of a mouse takes a few days to get used to but i cna now move around ny documents with a few flicks of the fingers. Spinning the ball to scroll also took some getting used to but I now find it much easier, more comfortable and more intuitive then scroll wheels or similar devices.

I don't miss the programmable buttons others have complaiend about as all im looking for is L/R mouse click, and the combination of the ball-spin scroll and the low and comfortable form factor easily make this a better mousetrap for me then the previous Kensington trackballs....more info

best so farI love the firm feel of the ball. the other trackballs i have used are to "loose" too bad the software sucks. you cannot program the button to do something else. i do wish that the ball was bit firmer even. the click sound a bit cheap for such a expensive mouse....more info

GREAT TRACK BALL MOUSEVERY NICE, Well worth the money, although i wish it was cheaper, i guess in this day and age you get what you pay for, I have used a kensington mouse for over 8 years nows, originally i used the expert track ball but it was getting worn out, and decidied to replace it. I was hesitant at first, some people claim the speed or precise control is not adustable to thier style. Wasnt sure if i was ready for all the ball spinning access to I tunes and other media, but i ordered it anyway and was not dispapointed. I found the tracking to be smooth and flawless and have not had an issue with precise control of speed. ( but i am not a heavy designer) although i do use photoshop alot and it works perfect for me in all aspects.Also play Warcraft alot with no problem. The spinning of the ball to access media was actually better then i thought! Worked smoothly,able to navigate with ease,not at all complicated, very simple to learn. Only problem was the zooming in and out on a web page was a little tedious as i sometimes have a hard time zooming to a particluer spot on a page and after zooming had to scroll to find the spot i wanted to see close up, but its not a major problem for me, as i rarely use that feature. As a track ball i find it smooth and very easy to use, no rough movement of the ball, as i guess the now use a little light beam instead of those metel inserts to track the balls movement, Design is flawless it looks awsome and fits my hand better then my old track ball. Bottom line, I am very happy with my purchase, if you got the money, its worth buying! ( just wish they would make it cheaper)....more info

New Trackball Good, But Missing Key FeatureFantastic upgrade of the Hardware portion of the original Kensington TurboMouse (in all it's various forms), from the look and feel, to the billiard size ball. The new optic system means the cursor doesn't stick when the thing gets dirty and that is nice. The missing feature, the one I used extensively, and the one I bought this for, was the ability to program the buttons. Working with both text and graphics, I had my old turbomouse programed to copy and past without having to go to the keyboard. I find the permanent programing of the buttons cute (as in, they do cool things) but lest useful than allowing me to program for my specific needs. Hopefully this is something that software upgrades will allow in the near future. (I can't be the only one out here complaining about this.) That said, it is still the best mouse in the house!...more info

Two button trackball that shoots itself in the foot.

I've been using Kensington expert mice for a very long time. I've been so pleased with them, I didn't even read any reviews. I just purchased one for me and my wife.

Sadly, The top two buttons are useless to me. One does something with one of two applications I never ever use (Windows media and iTunes) The other one does something involving pictures with several applications I don't use, and two web browsers. I'm still not exactly certain what functionality they provide, besides disabling the cursor.

Kensington has made a trackball that half the buttons disable the pointing devices primary function - the pointer.

If you can get past that, the trackball is incredibly smooth. Its very comfortable to use. Its very cool looking. Probably would go great with a Mac.

PRETTY, BUT BRAIN DEAD. SO.... NOW!My experience with the Slimblade began after migrating to a 64bit Vista PC.

I am a professional Graphic Designer, so programmability and fine control are everything to me. I have used and loved my Expert Mouse for years, so I was crushed to discover that although it moved the cursor and sent basic mouse clicks in Vista, the Mouseworks software would not install. I had lost all my programmed buttons!

Frustrated, I emailed Kensington's tech support asking when a new Mouseworks version would be available. Their answer? "Never."

Then I received an eblast from Kensington showing the new Slimblade. It looked really cool, and had 64bit Vista support, so I checked it out here on Amazon. After reading reviews by experienced Expert Mouse users, I knew the Slimblade would be a sad alternative.

I again contacted Kensington, suggesting that they made an error when they chose to abandon the *best Human Interface Device on the planet* (the Expert Mouse) in favor of the pretty but brain dead Slimblade. They assured me that their marketing mavens had done extensive research into which features users really want in a trackball, and that the Slimblade is the answer to our dreams.

I'm not sure which "users" Kensington surveyed, but I'm willing to bet they weren't Expert Mouse users! They never asked me, anyway.

I assured them they were making a big mistake and suggested they read the reviews on Amazon. I'm sure glad I read them; otherwise I might have been excited when the box arrived.

Yeah, I caved! I figured better ergonomics would be of some comfort to me, since my old friend no longer worked right anyway. So, I now have a really pretty Slimblade sitting pretentiously where a really useful trackball used to be. I did not bother to install the driver for the Slimblade. It does its 2-button blind-mouse thing just as well without it. The other "functions" would only annoy me.

On the positive side, it is more comfortable, ergonomically, and looks great on my desk. And these days, it is all about looks, isn't it?

Frustrating lack of customizationTop buttons aren't programmable? At $100?? That's absolutely ridiculous. Got an email back from Technical Support over at Kensington yesterday stating that they had no plans on releasing any update so that the buttons may be programmed. I really hope that's not the case. It's stubbornness to the extreme. I'll try calling tomorrow, but if I get another "absolutely not" then I'm returning this otherwise great trackball. Get with it, Kensington....more info

It's not THAT horribleHi, I am an "expert" user. I have been using Kensington trackballs since the early 90s and must admit that I never truly got over the tragic passing of my Turbo Mouse Pro. In my opinion the standard by which all trackballs ought be measured. Eight completely customizable function buttons in addition to the standard right & left click plus a very convenient wee tiny scroll wheel in the perfect position just above the uber comfy ball. I even loved the aesthetic of the silver case with the blue ball. My desk has never looked quite right since. Sadly nothing lasts forever & I have been through several lesser trackballs since; predominately Kensington. While I completely agree that the lack of programmable buttons is ridiculous I am not having any trouble whatsoever using this as a pointing device on my two 30" Cinema HD Displays. Granted for much of my design work I am using my Cintiq 21UX so trackballs don't really matter. However, I have had no difficulty using the SlimBlade in any of the CS4 or Autodesk applications. The SlimBlade happily & accurately zooms my cursor across 60 inches of display. My apologies if I am not as verbose as the many detractors on the issue of the SlimBlade's performance. I just don't think it's all that dreadful. Oh yeah, it's incredibly comfortable in hand.

No programmable keys = worst decision ever for KensingtonNice going guys. No programmable keys for anyone who is serious about using their mouse. And why TAKE AWAY a feature that already existed in their previous incarnation the Expert Mouse. The arrogance and idiocy of this decision to take away our ability to program the keys how we want is maddening. They are basically telling us we pro users have to stick with the Expert Mouse which they freely admit is a nightmare for carpal tunnel (which is the very the reason they made this new mouse slim for wrist health).
...more info

Excellent mouseI have always loved the ease of use of a trackball, this one is no exception. While the top two buttons are not reprogrammable, this is not really a drawback for me. It fits easily in the hand. To scroll I lay the side of my index finger on top of the ball and spin the ball with my middle finger. Easy to use!...more info

Very comfortable to use and almost a 5...Things to note: The system that I have my Slimblade Trackball connected to is an iMac.

This trackball is very comfortable to use. It has less of an incline than the ExpertMouse which ensures your wrist will stay in a more comfortable position over extended periods of use. Using the trackball to scroll, pan and zoom was rather intuitive and only took about a day for me to break my habit of looking for a scroll wheel. It took an hour or so of use before the ball bearings in the housing stopped making a slight "motion" noise...but I think I've had this issue with most trackballs I've used.

There are a couple of things that prevented me from giving this a 5 star rating, however. The software, as far as I can tell, does not allow you to change the upper-left and upper-right button assignments like the previous software for the ExpertMouse. Basically you're stuck without a "back button" for your browser or whatever you're used to setting those buttons to. Secondly, the "twisting" motion produces a light "clicking" sound to alert you that you're now scrolling or zooming. There is now way that I've found to turn off that noise either through the software or on the trackball itself. It is not, by any means, loud or intrusive sounding...but it would have been nice to have the option to turn it off.

Pros: Comfortable design. Intuitive controls. The trackball flows smoothly after about an hour of use.

Cons: No way to configure buttons that I've found. Twisting motion produces a "clicking" sound to alert you that you're scrolling with no way to turn it off....more info

Expensive and not worth itIt has a better angle than the Expert TB, but the twisting to scroll is awkward and the buttons to click are hard to press with poor feedback. It's preference, but for the money this thins is WAY overpriced, esp since you can snag an Expert TB for half.

P.S. The software is weak. Most people have volume controls on their keyboard, why do you need it on your mouse???...more info

GarbageThis is garbage. Kensington is selling a sub $50 trackball for $100 plus. Give it a pass...more info

Great device, lackluster functionalityThis is by far the highest quality trackball I've ever used. I loved the original grey beast of a trackball Kensington put out in the 90's, but the roller sensors just don't compare the smoothness of the optical version.

For certain uses I prefer a mouse or a tablet, but I find a trackball very comfortable for general use due to the minimal motion required and the many ways to move the device (digits, palm, forearm [oh yes, forearm!], etc).

I use my computer for a broad range of tasks (games, graphics, programming, audio / visual editing, etc) and to be productive I configure my inputs on a per-use basis. The fact that Kensington used to have highly configurable drivers that are no longer supported by more modern versions of their products is absolutely asinine. To slice off a section of the market, indeed the initial adopters of this type of product, due to analysis of the least-common-denominator is, at minimum, a poor choice.

There's a huge difference between intuitive or usable design and intentional dumbing-down. Minimalism works best when it's a surface aesthetic, not the foundation for functionality.

Kensington, if you're taking the time to read the words of your customers, please do yourself and us a favor and step up the drivers to old MouseWorks standards. This would be a 10-star product if you did....more info

Pretty good, could be betterThis is the first trackball I've owned in over a decade. Overall, I really like it. The feel of the ball is terrific, and the low profile makes it much more comfortable than the prehistoric trackball I used previously.

Unfortunately, the driver software (for the Mac) absolutely sucks. It causes crashes on a machine that hasn't crashed in literally years.

The good news is the scroll wheel function and left/right buttons work without the driver software, so it isn't necessary to install the drivers to use the trackball.

The bad news is the 2 additional buttons don't function without drivers, and none of the aftermarket drivers recognized them....more info

Wow...Great Product...UPDATE: Awesome Product!Okay, I'm editing my review because the more I use this trackball, the more I really do love it.

I've used this trackball for just about a week now, and I'm impressed.

First, it's just a beautiful looking device. Everybody who walks by my desk comments on it.

Beauty aside, it's also has great functionality. I was already used to a trackball, having been a Kensington Expert Mouse fan for years.

But this new SlimBlade trackball raises the bar with some very unique features. The top two buttons act as part of the 'heads-up' display...if you click the upper left button, you switch between music-mode or cursor mode. The great thing about that is that you can control your music (volume, play/pause, forward/back) even if you're not actively 'in' your music application (i.e. iTunes or MS Media). So if I'm working on a word document and want to fast-forward a song, I just click to music mode and FF via the ball. No need to leave the application you're working in.

The upper right button puts the mouse into View mode, and you can zoom in/out of pictures, documents. I'm just starting to use this feature now in Excel and really enjoy having it as an option.

It's taken me a few days to get used to scrolling via twisting the ball (i loved the scroll ring on the Expert Mouse), but now that I've used this awhile, I like it. UPDATE: I just discovered that I don't need to lift my hand and use 2/3 fingers to twist the ball to scroll. Instead, you can lay your middle finger along the chrome ring around the ball, and simultaneously move the ball, and scrolling occurs easily. I can even flick the ball for long/fast scrolling.

Several folks are bemoaning the lack of a 'middle-click' or the ability to program buttons. If this is mandatory for you, then the older Expert Mouse model is your choice (64325). But for me, the R-click and L-click options are enough, and the media controls are phenomenal.

If you're a trackball user, this is the one for you! Highly Recommended....more info

3 axis trackballThough it may not have programmable buttons, i like the 3 axis design.
it also has a flexible rubber tab on the left side, which inserts into slot on right side of an addition unit. The center ring does not turn, instead turn ball on it's third axis. cord is covered with woven cloth, and is stiffer than normal cords. it has microbearings instead of the old wheel type bearings.
overall no complaints, or misgivings. ...more info